Alan Light

Alan Light (born August 4, 1966)

Early life Light grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he attended Cincinnati Country Day School. His mother was a dance reviewer for the local newspaper. His father, Dr. Irwin Light, was a neotologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He graduated from Yale University in 1988, majoring in American Studies, and wrote his senior thesis on Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys.

Career Light had been an intern at Rolling Stone during their 20th anniversary year while still a student. He later joined the staff as a fact checker in 1989, becoming a senior writer in 1990. In 1993, he became the founding music editor of Vibe magazine, becoming editor-in-chief in 1994. He left Spin in March 2002 and founded the music magazine Tracks in 2003.

Light has worked as consultant for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. and subsequently for the 11th, 12th and 13th Annual Independent Music Awards. Light has hosted programming on SiriusXM.

Light has also been involved in assisting homeless people with the Housing Works AIDS charity.

After publication of his 2012 book The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah', Light served as consulting producer for the 2022 film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song.

Selected bibliography Tupac Amaru Shakur: 1971–1996 (with Quincy Jones), 1998 The Vibe History of Hip Hop, 1999 The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys, 2006 My Cross To Bear (by Gregg Allman, with Alan Light), 2012 The Holy or the Broken – Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah', 2012 Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain, 2014